Back on November 9, 2008 I posted a poem on this blog that I had written, entitled
Ina and Jaap, after having been inspired by a documentary I had seen a few months back. On December 15th , I was checking the gmail account for this blog (something I do very seldomly) and to my great surprise I had an email from Ina (Soep) Polak dated December 9th. I couldn't believe it! Being the skeptic I am about internet contacts that I have never met in person, I thought for sure it was just someone playing around pretending to be her. She told me how the director of the documentary had forwarded my poem to her and her husband. I never sent the poem to anyone; I just have it posted here and on an online poetry site. I assume that that person copied it from here or the other site in order to send it to Ina and Jack (the anglicized version of his name). Then she asked if I had read the book that the documentary was based on and I said that I hadn't yet, but would love to. She told me in the email that if I hadn't and wanted to, they (Ina and Jack) would send me a copy if I emailed her my address. The skeptic in me hesitated. But, then, I figured I can be found on Google anyway so what harm would it do. I sent her a reply with my address included.
Today, in my mailbox was the promised copy of
Steal a Pencil for Me. My name and address were handwritten on a plain white envelope (8x10, roughly) and in the upper left hand corner was a little adhesive return address label from the Polaks. I wanted to rip it open like a kid opening gifts on Christmas Day, but took my time so that I can preserve the envelope.
Below is the cover of the book they sent me and the inscription they wrote inside, along with the title page and their autographs. Also below are pictures of this inspirational couple then and now (I found the pictures on the internet while doing a search for them and their story.) God bless them for such a wonderful gesture. I am tickled pink by such warmth and thoughtfulness. It is such a precious, unexpected gift. Thank you Ina and Jack!
10 comments:
WOW!! what a cool thing to happen, Mic...your poem must have really touched their hearts...I'm sure they appreciated the sensitivity of it...you just never know, do you!! Sometime taking a risk proves to be well worth!
Hope you all had a nice Christmas!
Love
Yes, i am just so touched they would send me a copy. I had it on my Amazon.com wishlist and actually just ordered a copy today. The binding on the book isn't that great and the pages are attached only by glue. So when I opened the page with the inscription on it i pulled away from the rest of the pages a bit, much to my dismay. So instead of bending it more by reading it, i decided to get another copy just to read, so that the inscribed copy wouldn't fall apart
We had a nice Christmas. How was yours?
Wow that is so neat! I didn't realize that they were still alive - they look good for their age 90's!
That is a really nice Christmas surprise. Do you think that your poem will be published?
Hi Leigh...thanks for the comment...
I was equally surprised when I saw that email in my gmail box that day and realized they were still alive. I didn't know the documentary had only been released in 2007. I think they look GREAT not only for their age, but for all they had endured.
Actually I used a bit of artistic license in writing it. HE will be 96 on Dec 31 and she is 10 years younger than he is. But the rest of it is pretty close to the facts of their story. I didn't realize when writing it she was that much younger than he was. But, hey...86, 96...not a lot of difference at that age, in my opinion. My theory is that if you are still living at those ages, then every day is an additional blessing. If I can lead as fulfilling a life as either of them has, I will be one happy person. You should see the documentary; they are so damn cute in it! Very affectionate with each other...and after 60 years of marriage!
It has to be one of THE best gifts I have ever gotten. And, the fact that it was a surprise (because I honestly didn't think I would get a book from them) makes it all the more precious to me. (I LOVE surprises; I even hate knowing what I get for Christmas ahead of time...takes all the fun out of it.) I figured that, even if it was really her I had been in contact with, they would forget in their busy schedules to send me a copy. (They do lectures around the country about their story and their Holocaust experience and he works with his son helping survivors of the Holocaust and their decendants recupe assets stolen from them by the Nazis during the war.) I am THRILLED beyond description that they actually sent me a book though!!! I have ordered another copy, however, because the one they sent me is printed on trade paper and the binding is only glue. And when I went to scan the inscription they wrote me, that page pulled away from the others at the binding. So I ordered a hardcover, used copy to actually read from because I don't want the copy they sent me to be ruined.
As far as any publishing of the poem...well, putting it on the web is a form of publishing. I don't see it getting published in any print form, at this time. Maybe some day though! Who knows!
Leigh, one day I will show you the emails between Ina and myself, if you like. I kept them all. There were about 6-7 of them, hers and mine combined.
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